Finding Pura Vida, Chalk it up to Life Experience

I think I can finally say that I understand the Tico phrase “Pura Vida.” It literally translates to “pure life” but means so much more than that. For the Ticos and those living here for extended periods of time, Pura Vida is a way of life. It’s a way of looking out at the world and affects not only how one views the world, but also how one lives day to day and allows the world to continue on as it does. Pura Vida means being laidback, flexible, and enjoying the pure and simple things in life. Rather than getting caught up in the next big gig or how to make the next million or buy the newest and hippest car, home, or cool new trainers, Pura Vida is getting up at 5 in the morning to walk down the gravel, dirt road to watch the sun rise behind the volcano and then spend the morning fishing for sabilo and guapote in Lake Arenal. Pura Vida is laughing, smiling, eating beans and rice, and enjoying the company of others, despite the fact that you are all sadly broke and most likely also in debt. That doesn’t matter. All will work out, family and friends top the list of priorities, and every adventure and experience is jumped at, because well, why not? The sun is shining, the volcano is clear, there’s work to be done and get done it will, but why not spend a few more hours trying to catch a fish or go for a leisurely walk through the pouring down rain because it just doesn’t really matter. Who said being soaked was a bad thing? I’m enjoying my conversation with you, why should we end it on account of a sporadic rainforest downpour? Make do with what you have, rather than making dues to seek after what you do not have and don’t really need. Yes friends, Pura Vida is the way to be. And what better place to Pura Vida than right here in the middle of such a tranquil, incredibly gorgeous country where the people are friendly and the nature is supreme. I may be getting onto a plane and flying out of here in 5 days, but something within me tells me that Pura Vida is not over. This chapter is not yet completely written. I think there’s more here. Whether that means I return to live and work, or simply adopt Pura Vida as my own way of life wherever I am in the world, or come back and visit from time to time for extended periods, or, as is the case with Chile, constantly remember and dream about this place and dream about returning one day, I’m not sure where my path is headed. Saturday, September 19, 2009 signifies the beginning of a new chapter. As with each chapter’s beginning and end, I always feel that I am not ready. I’m not ready to end this current chapter and begin a new one. Like I said, I feel that this chapter is not yet completely written. Aspects of this chapter will assuredly be carried through into the subsequent chapters of my life, by people I’ve met here, by memories, photos, perspectives, and so on. It’s how the chapters build upon one another and intertwine that makes life truly intriguing and exciting. These are just a few of my initial reflections and thoughts, aside from the fact that I am absolutely terrified to begin this next chapter. I don’t know where I want to be or what I want to do, and sometimes I wish I could just stay here forever. I know, quite the change from a few weeks ago, hm? I’ve got the entire world at my doorstep, and I have no clue where to even begin!

These past couple weeks at John’s have redeemed Costa Rica for me. They have allowed me to not only truly experience and understand Pura Vida, but have provided me with an incredible plethora of opportunities and life experiences that never seem to end. Unfortunately, as with any great chapter, it eventually must come to an end so that the next can begin. Within this concept I currently find myself.

Where to begin? We’ve been working quite a bit at Pizza John’s, but it definitely has not felt like work (note to self: find a paying job that doesn’t feel like work) We get up, walk the dogs around Lake Arenal, greet the morning and lately, have also been fishing. I caught a 12 oz sabilo this past Friday with a tasty piece of guava I found fallen on the ground. When I was young we lived next to a drainage pond, “the lake” as we affectionately called it, and I first tried my hand at fishing for blue gills and pretending I lived on the ocean whenever the lake would diminish a bit and sand muck would appear. However, every fish I caught we always caught and released. Once I had reeled in my catch of the day, I had to finish the job by smashing a rock onto its head—multiple times because Sammy Sabilo really did not want to die. What a fighter! It was sad, but necessary as part of the circle of life. I also descaled and gutted it once we got back, which was a deliciously disgusting experience. There’s nothing like pulling fish intestines out, or finding remnants of the guava I’d used to catch it still partway in its mouth. Mmm! It’s in the freezer now, waiting to be eaten. Can’t wait…! Living off the land—check. Documenting and experiencing the sunrise again—check.

We went into Fortuna to get supplies and on the way back, John let me drive his 1973 Mustard Yellow Land Rover over the dirt roads around the lake. It’s stick shift, which I have driven before but it had been a while. That car is such a tank, it was fun maneuvering it around the twists and turns and over huge rocks and bumps in the road and up into the mountains a bit. Driving in a foreign country—check. Working on my manual transmission skills—check.

A couple weeks ago Isaac and I drug out John’s two kayaks and thoroughly cleaned them. We had a few hours to enjoy life more the other day so I took one out and enjoyed exploring the various inlets, watching the birds fly in and out of the trees around me as the rains came and went, and paddled tranquilly across the flat, glasslike water. I even found an inlet where some gorgeous river was pouring into the lake. Apparently 60% of all of Costa Rica’s electricity is generated by Lake Arenal…pretty impressive.

The volcano has been more active than usual lately, but also very clear. I have more pictures of the lake and volcano than necessary but hey, it never looks the same! There’s always something new to explore/see, dontchaknow. The other night the power went out and some of the ice cream started melting so John made it my duty to finish off one of the large buckets of coconut ice cream. I gladly obliged and carried it down to the lakeshore, munching along with a solar light from the garden since I didn’t have my headlamp at the time. I watched the red hot lava flow down the side and listened to the occasional rumble from within the great behemoth in front of me. The lake was so clear that night that I could see the reflection of the volcano and lava within the lake, along with faraway lightning crashing in the distance. It was a gorgeous night, and the stars were pretty sweet as well. Unable to be photographed, but rather to be forever ingrained in my memory as a pura vida moment. Check.

I just got back from taking the kayak out again, this time with a fishing pole and some fallen guavas. I made it my goal to cross from one side of the lake to the other, as close to the volcano as possible. A little over halfway there the winds picked up and threatened to blow me in the opposite direction but I paddled on! I finally made it to the swampy reeds surrounding the edge of the volcano and tried to fish a bit, out near the middle. That didn’t work out so great so I started towards the nearby inlets. I just so happened to look towards my left as I paddled along and saw a huge wave of rain headed my way! Luckily the rain wasn’t too bad and actually felt kind of good and relaxing as I headed towards some hopefully fish-filled inlets of the lake. Eventually I reached one and cast my line. Just as I was about to give up and head back, I got a bite! That bite turned into a catch and I reeled it in, threw it into the kayak and paddled as fast as I could towards the inlet shore, holding it down with my feet. I hopped out and crushed it as fast as possible, cleaned out the kayak, and took a few pics then headed towards home. I drug the kayak, fish, and fishing supplies up and out of the water and across the barrio, with everyone watching me. I wasn’t too worried, I’m pretty sure I already have the reputation as the crazy gringa who wanders around at all hours, stalking the volcano, sometimes carrying fish, usually wearing rubber boots, never without a smile on her face. I’m not sure how big this last fish was but it was slightly smaller than the one I caught on Friday. Regardless, we ate all the fish for dinner tonight with salad and rice and it was taaaaasty! Nothing like eating fish you caught and killed yourself. Check.

Aside from gaining life experiences, I’ve also been gaining more life experiences by working at Pizza John’s. I’ve been perfecting my pizza dough skills as well as working on not pulling the pizza out of the oven before it has a perfectly crispy crust. I serve, make, wash dishes, and imagine new foods into life. Last week I created the Tica Pizza—a combination of bananas and pineapple, ham optional. I have yet to convince any guests to try it, but we all love it anyway! More for us. Andrea has been baking a lot while I’ve been kayaking and wandering around from place to place—we’ve had cinnamon rolls, ice cream sandwiches, and all sorts of goodness in that realm. We aren’t paid but we do get tips, which is exciting and if I could live off of tips alone I would be set, and probably stick around for a few more weeks at least. I feel a part of this business now, not only as the business that it is but the community. The community created amongst those that work and live here, as well as those in the surrounding area that come to eat or invite us over or just stop by to chat. I know these people now, and they know me. We wave while going down the street and I greet my neighbors each morning as I head out to fish or run down to the street to see how clear the volcano is. I've definitely met some incredible amazing people, with awesome stories to tell while I've been down here, which has undoubtedly enriched and improved my entire experience and perspective.

Hopefully I won’t jinx it, but there has actually been less rain these past couple weeks than at the very beginning when we arrived way back in late June. It seems so long ago, almost like I’ve been here always, yet also seems so short. I guess that’s a good feeling. Anyway, it has been sunny and the volcano has been incredibly clear and while it has still rained, and rained quite significantly, it isn’t as oppressive as it was, nor does it rain for as long as it did. Yay! However, I now no longer really mind when it rains and rarely carry my raincoat. It just doesn’t matter to me if I get wet. The other day I went for a walk and was secretly hoping that it would start to downpour while I was walking. It eventually did rain decently hard, but I didn’t get as soaked as I wanted to. Call me crazy…I guess rain to me is now just a part of this whole experience, this whole Pura Vida, rain is a part of this world that I find myself in and it makes me feel alive to allow it to penetrate my non-waterproof clothing. My clothes will be dry in a few days anyhow. :)

More adventures ahead! Sorry if I don’t write you back or post pictures or really communicate much in these next few days, I rarely get online anymore—there’s too much to see and do as opposed to sitting in front of a computer screen. We’ll chat soon! I’ll do all that once I get home again. And while it may not sound like it, I am excited to come home. Even if it is just for a bit, I am excited to see you, if not very soon, hopefully soon enough. I’m excited to say hello, have a cell phone, ride my bike for miles along country roads, enjoy the sights sounds and smells of fall time, bake with exotic ingredients, and search for Pura Vida in central Indiana—does it exist? There’s always more to explore, wherever I may be.

Oh, and I am an official college graduate! Verdict says that is quite a bummer, those were 4 quite incredible years that I will never forget. Homecoming in 3 weeks! :)

“It takes some silence to make sound/ And it takes a lost before you found it/ And it takes a road to go nowhere/ It takes a toll to show you care/ It takes a hole to see a mountain…Life is wonderful/ life goes full circle/ life is meaningful/ life is so full of love…” --jason mraz, life is wonderful.

Adventures on the Caribbean Coast

Note: I started writing this past Saturday and just finished it yesterday. FYI. :)

Hello! Yet another week has passed and what a week it has been. We are now completely set up and volunteering here at Pizza John’s and loving la pura vida. This morning I got up at 6 and went fishing with John, his girlfriend Ana, and her 6-year-old son Mao (I may have mentioned him in a previous post?). I’ve fished many times before, but still had a bit of trouble getting the hang of the pole and casting reel. No one caught anything but we still had a good time catching sticks and losing lures and using worms and rotting guava fruits to tempt the fish! What a beautiful way to start a morning… Isaac showed up while we were fishing and John has been wanting to build an archway at the entrance of the restaurant so the three of us traipsed through the jungle growth by the lake and on the shore to find some good long logs to use to build an archway. We lugged them up the hill and into the van as the sun showed through the clouds and the day got into gear. It’s amazing how productive one can be when rising so early! It’s hard living in the jungle and sleeping in anyway—so many sounds from howler monkeys to birds to barking dogs to insects to people rising with the dawn, it really is impossible to sleep once the sun starts to come up at 5am. I still attempt to go to bed decently early though, so it works out. We had coffee and cleaned the restaurant, did some laundry, cleaned out our cabina, and just relaxed and enjoyed one another’s company and the day—all before noon! It is entering the rainy season and low tourist season so business is slower these days, but there is still lots to do. These next 2 weeks won’t be without adventure if I can help it! It’s been truly great getting back to the root of what is truly important in life: people, taking one’s time, and truly stopping to smell the roses. I love this easy-going, pura vida way of life. :)

Last Sunday Andrea and I caught the ranch shuttle headed to Fortuna at 6am, thus commencing a 12 hour day of pure traveling from bus to bus. We arrived finally in Cahuita on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica around 5:30pm. Our first half hour in the growing darkness was traumatizing…being hawked at with our backpacker backpacks clearly proving we were tourists. I love traveling, but wearing a backpacker’s backpack is equivalent to wearing a large sign on one’s back that says “Hey! I’m not from here! Yell at me and try to convince me to stay at your hotel or eat at your restaurant and give me pieces of paper that I never wanted in the first place telling me things I didn’t want to know and instead of making me feel welcome, making me feel like turning around and running back to catch the bus I just arrived on!” We hated our lives in those first few moments in Cahuita, trying to figure out where was the best place to stay and who to trust. Aka no one. We hadn’t really planned on where to stay and the one place we wanted to go was 2 km down the beach which we did not want to walk in the dark and the phones weren’t working. We walked into one of the nicer looking hotels and found a friendly German pair that offered us their calling card, along with the hotel owner who let us borrow his cell phone to call the place. It was full, so in pure exhaustion we decided to stay at the place we know found ourselves, even though it was more than we wanted to pay. It had a kitchen so we bought some macaroni and cheese and called it a night.
Cahuita National Park

In the morning on Monday we wandered around town trying to find a new place to stay, and finding Cahuita to be rather run down and semi-deserted, decided to move along to Puerto Viejo later that night. We wandered down Playa Negra, a black sand beach. For some reason, though I hate to run most of the time, I couldn’t resist the urge to run down the beach for a bit. Such a freeing feeling, running amongst the waves and enjoying the sun and surf and seashells. After packing sandwiches for lunch we headed into Cahuita National Park, one of the most frequently visited parks in Costa Rica. There’s a 7km trail along the beach, bordering the edge of the rainforest so we took that trail, stopping to admire the beautiful sand and sun, as well as hunt for animals. We saw 2 sloths sleeping (of course), tons of crabs in all shapes and sizes scuttling across the sand, some trumpet fish, a couple blue morpho butterflies, a couple howler monkeys, some spider monkeys, and lots of lizards running around. So neat!!
Crabby friend

Andrea was definitely the winner at finding the animals as I was just wandering around looking everywhere and nowhere for long enough to spot anything, so I was glad she was along to point stuff out. Halfway down the trail we were told by a couple women to grab some sticks to fend off a group of white-faced capuchin monkeys that came down from the trees and tried to grab at their bags as they walked along. In a mixture of trepidation and excitement to see the monkeys, we grabbed sticks and walked the entire remainder of the trail, at the ready to beat off the monkeys and never saw any!! What a bummer!! This was the second time we’d heard of the white-faced capuchins attacking hikers for the alleged food inside their bags, but they were apparently not interested in us—or scared by the big sticks we were carrying. We caught a bus back at the end of the trail as it opened up to the main road and the national park ended, rested up a bit, and then headed into Puerto Viejo with all of our gear to go find a new hotel.

Puerto Viejo was a half-hour’s ride down the beach and is known for its beautiful beaches, chill atmosphere, and crime. Lots more hawking, lots of hotels offering little and expecting a lot, and nothing that satisfied us. So after walking around the town for about an hour and a half we hopped on the next bus back to Cahuita and decided that it was worth it to stay in a nice place with friendly owners, a nice kitchen, air conditioning, and cable television. We spent the next two nights there, eating mac and cheese for dinner and cereal and toast for breakfast.

On Tuesday we woke up and headed back to the national park, this time donning our swimsuits, to play in the ocean and lay on the beach for a couple hours, pure relaxation style. There were no waves and incredibly clear water—definitely what the Caribbean is known for. Picture perfect for sure! I’m not a huge ocean or water person in general, but it was still nice for a bit to enjoy the beauty in front of me. I realized on this trip that I am a doer, I like to be active and moving and it’s often difficult for me to just sit around and do essentially nothing. It’s nice from time to time, but definitely not something I typically enjoy. I would say it was a personal challenge of sorts to be lackadaisical after always being on the go and doing things all the time. I spent a lot of time thinking and daydreaming and also contemplating the definition of beauty. Why do we call certain things ugly and other things beautiful? From what does our definition of beauty derive? We all seem to have a different standard and yet at the root of it all, a similar standard too. For me I could appreciate the mesmerizing waves, blue sky and water, and white sand, along with the green swaying palm trees. However, while I would definitely say it was beautiful, I also find the mountains and the crisp clear air beautiful. Greens and blues are a soothing, aesthetic combination that brings me a sense of inner peace and contentment. Think about it. What do you find beautiful and why do you call whatever defines that beauty standard beautiful vs. ugly?

We decided to experience the Caribbean flavor for lunch and after traipsing around town and finding every place we wanted to eat at either blah, closed, or out of business, we went to the edge of town to some place that is supposedly famous for good food. We sat down, ordered, got silty water that we finished before our food came out and then was taken away but never replaced for our meal, and waited over 45 minutes for a $12 meal of rice, some steamed veggies, and marlin with a coconut sauce. It was decent, but not worth the wait, or the money, or the terrible service. We were completely dissatisfied and pleased to realize that we had saved time, money, and frustration by making the majority of our meals these past few days.

After lunch and a nap we wandered back to Puerto Viejo to just enjoy the town or something. We walked around somewhat, looking at the various shops and souvenir stuffs and then just sat on the beach watching the sun set until the bus came. Many of the people we’ve met along the way have been enthralled with PV, and while I enjoyed the vibe emanating from all the places and people we found there, I wouldn’t venture saying I was enthralled by it. I definitely am glad we stayed in little Cahuita instead, despite its depressed exterior it is a nice little place to relax and stay.

Wednesday morning we awoke early to catch the 8am bus to Limón, a port city an hour away. It stopped at a police checkpoint where apparently we were technically supposed to have our passports but neither of us had wanted to travel with them so luckily no one gave us any trouble and accepted our state driver’s licenses. From Limón we caught a town bus to Moín. We arrived to the dock of Moín a little before 10am and unfortunately all the boats to Tortuguero were full so we were told to wait until 1pm. Three hours to kill in Nowheresville. Good times! We caught a bus to Playa Bonita, which was indeed a beautiful beach but it was so unbearably hot that we sat under a tent and watched the sun and surf from there, having left our swimsuits in our backpacks on the boat we were going to take at 1pm. When we got back a little before noon to the dock, we saw our water taxi driver who told us our bags were still on the boat (good…) and told us we’d leave at 1pm. Right. So we sat down and waited under a tree until a random tourist approached us and asked how we were getting to Tortuguero. We told her about our water taxi man, and then tried to help her find him so she could get a ride in with us, but he had left…along with the boat, and our bags. Thus entered a semi-frantic hour in which we asked the other water taxi men where our driver (sea captain?) had gone, only to be told he had left on a tour and would be back in an hour. It seemed kind of sketchy, and as I sat on the dock waiting for Rubén to return, I thought about all the hundreds of dollars in gear I had inside of that backpack, along with the backpack itself! Not cheap. Around 1:15pm Rubén finally returned from the tour, in the boat, with our bags and everything was fine but ugh, such a terrible feeling to think that your stuff was long gone and there was nothing you could do. We hoped onto the water taxi boat along with our new friends from Israel (there are so many Israelis traveling! These were not the first we’ve met) The ride was supposed to be 2.5 hours, but it actually ended up being 3.5.
Amazon???


At first it was awesome, zooming through the canals, watching the rainforest fly by, seeing signs to slow down because manatees were underneath (didn’t see any unfortunately), and spotting birds and feeling as though I was in the Amazon. The adventure turned into a true epic journey when it began to rain and the boat, while it had a roof, did not have covered sides so we began to get drenched, not to mention the fact that rain stings quite smartly at 30 mph, or however fast we were going. The wind picked up and it really was not an enjoyable ride for the next hour. Luckily at some point our guide gave us tarps to use to cover ourselves (why he did not give them to us when it first began to rain I still don’t know…) and eventually the rain and wind mostly subsided. We pulled into the tiny turtle town of Tortuguero around 4:30pm and were met by a friendly tour guide of the same company as the boat we came in on who gave us advice and led us to a nice little hotel right on the ocean for a good price and with a kitchen again! It began to rain once we arrived, for the first time the whole trip! We donned our rain gear and traipsed across town on sandy paths to the tiny grocery store to buy some spaghetti noodles, butter, and a can of veggies for dinner. Have you ever opened a can without a can opener? It’s not easy. I have a Swiss Army knife that cut into the can with the can opener (?) portion, but didn’t cut any further. Our Israeli friends lent me their pseudo can opener which I also failed to use correctly and eventually I got some vegetables out onto the spaghetti that by this time was fairly cooled off, especially after barely being able to boil the water to cook it in the first place since the wind kept blowing in and blowing out the fuse. Rustic.

Thursday morning we woke up a little before 5am to go on a 5:30am canoe tour of the canals of Tortuguero National Park.
Sunrise!

We paddled around, approaching the edge of the rainforest and heading into groves whenever we or our guide spotted something. He was an expert at spotting iguanas and emerald basilisks, which was cool the first 5 times but then after that trying to search amongst the green for a green lizard grew to be quite tiresome. “Hello! Guys! See that iguana over there?? Look! Hello! Right in that tree! You don’t see it! Stand up! Look!” Besides green things, we also saw lots of types of herons, along with anhingas that must sit on tree branches in the sun after diving into the water after fish as their wings don’t have oil on them. Therefore they must let the sun dry their wings—a difficult and lengthy task in a rainforest. We also saw two caimans popping their eyes out of the water at us. Spider monkeys walked through the trees above us and then crouched on branches to eat some fruit. A group of noisy howlers yelled in the distance while some green parrots screeched in a nearby tree. There were toucans and white-faced capuchins vocalizing their presence as well, but we didn’t see them. I definitely felt like we were in a scene from the computer game Amazon Trail. For those of you that never played or even those that have, it was an incredible experience and while I am normally one to independently explore an area, having a guide for this situation was definitely worth the money. There’s no way we would have been able to see so many iguanas and basilisks without him! ;) The tour ended around 9am, leaving us until 6pm to find something to do. We filled the next few hours with a quick walking tour of the small town. The sandy paths are few, and most of the shops are souvenir related but still enjoyable to peruse. I definitely felt the remoteness of the area—even more so than where we have been living! You can only get to Tortuguero by air or by boat, how adventurous. The ocean along the shores of Tortuguero is much more rough compared to Cahuita and Puerto Viejo, but we still went in and enjoyed the massive waves that moved us all around. Don’t worry, we only went in up to our knees or so; I had no desire to mess with rip tides! A nap, lunch, and reading in the hammock at our hotel was also in order and we even went into town later to watch a parade that the schoolchildren did, dressed up and wearing masks—some cultural festival. For dinner we decided to eat out again, hoping the experience would be better than our last. The food came relatively quickly, and was decently tasty but not spectacular. This time I had rice with shrimp and some cabbage on the side. We got lucky though, our waiter only charged us $10 for both of our meals so that rocked! At first I thought he had added it up wrong but he was insistent that that was the amount we were to pay, even though the menu listed different prices. That was fine with me, for sure. :)

Around 9pm, after a quick power nap so that I could stay awake(!), we headed to the dock and hopped into a boat to the beach where the green sea turtles are nesting. There are 68 stations along the beach where you can access the beach with a guide. That night there were about 20 groups all along the beach, watching the nesting turtles. Our group of 4 was hustled to station 3 and allowed to get within 6 inches of a turtle laying her approximately 100 eggs into a hole in the sand. Turtles lay about 500 eggs a season, so she’ll be back. Baby turtles only have about a 1-2% chance of survival from the time the eggs are laid to their adventurous journey from the nest to the water. Everyone seems to be out to attack them! After watching her lay her eggs, we ran off to another area of the beach where another turtle had finished lay all her eggs for the night and was covering the nest. She quickly covered it then hauled herself up and out across the sand extremely quickly. The experience was awesome—how many people can say they have seen sea turtles on the beach, nesting! However, it definitely had an air of ethical or moral dilemma attached. The turtles were extremely stressed out and bothered by our presence, even though only red light was allowed. So many people, so close to the turtles—how would you like it if a whole huge group of crazy looking creatures appeared while you were giving birth?? It all seemed a little wrong. While there were many other turtles along the beach not being bothered, it still would be terrible for those few turtles that were sacrificed for our human experiential enjoyment. I’m still not sure if I feel okay supporting the whole thing, even though we were prohibited to bring our cameras and if we did so, a $1000 fine, along with a 3-month suspension of our guide’s license could have occurred. Eco-tourism. Not always executed in the best manner. Food for thought.

The next morning we very nearly missed our 6am boat to La Pavona and in fact did miss it. We arrived to the dock at 6:05am only to see the boat speeding off into the distance. Luckily there were a few others around the dock and all of us waved our arms to get their attention and they turned around and came back for us. :) whew. Funny, being on time is so very un-Pura Vida non-Tico style. But it all worked out in the end and we made all our bus connections and arrived 14 hours later back at Pizza John’s, safe and sound, happy and content, full of adventure.

I’d describe to you my principal impressions of working here at John’s, but this blog is already long enough. Check back within the next few days and I’ll try to post more.

Hope you all enjoyed your Labor Day! See you all super soon!

Cheers,
Katie

Caminando sin Rumbo (Wandering)

Note: I wrote this in shifts so if I repeat myself...that is why.

Time seems to be going by incredibly fast! I have just about 3 more weeks left in this country and while I have previously been counting down the days until my return I fear that once I escape the ranch I will be able to finally enjoy all that Costa Rica has to offer, and therefore not want to leave. Only time will tell. Three more days of work and even that won’t be too bad. We’ve completed all requirements, hours, and are just here almost as a formality at this point. The past few days we’ve been making signs and just started a data entry project to create a massive mailing list. Good times!! Saturday is moving day and right now the plan is to leave super early Sunday morning to head towards Tortuguero, a national park reachable only by air or boat. We’ll be taking a boat and it is known as Costa Rica’s Amazon so naturally, I am pumped. Don’t worry, I’ll be taking pictures like crazy! After that we’ll head to Cahuita and Puerto Viejo, two reggae towns on the Caribbean with lots of Afro-Caribbean influence. Look forward to more stories on the way about all of that. After our travels we’ll be learning all about how to throw pizzas and coming up with cool marketing ideas for Pizza John’s. I think I’ve mentioned all of these plans in the past few blogs, but it’s all something I’m clearly very excited about.

This past weekend I embarked on a solo adventure to San Jose or more specifically, the suburb of Moravia to visit my friend Michele and her husband Lisandro. I met Michele 7 years ago while here in Costa Rica on a mission trip with my church. It’s been about 5 years since we’ve seen one another and it was great to catch up and hang out and share life for a few days! I left immediately after work on Friday and arrived 5 hours later after switching buses twice in a super sketchy area of San Jose at 9:30pm. Luckily Michele and Lisandro were right behind the bus waiting for me! Saturday they had a wedding to go to for most of the day so I spent a wonderful morning eating delicious, real people food like toast with JAM and CREAM CHEESE and FRUIT and ICED TEA. I was in heaven! I had an apple with peanut butter and really, was so happy. I got to talk to my family via Skype Video Chat which takes the joy of Skype to a whole new level—how great to be able to talk AND see the people you are chatting with! And with a good connection too, rather than sounding like I was stuttering or had suddenly turned into a choppy robot. Ah the simple joys of life. Around noon I decided to hop onto a bus and start a day of exploring. I had no idea where I was going or what to do so I just got off at the end of the route and wandered around until I found a few plazas and lots of people. Saturdays are busy days in the city with tons of people selling all sorts of pirated DVDs, random things, and lots of fruit stands! I bought a really cheesy/awesome t-shirt semi on impulse and semi because I spent about 15 minutes in the store looking at each and every t-shirt and asking for specific things that they just didn’t have for sale. It’s really not that bad, but I definitely laughed at myself later in the day. Can we say minor buyer’s remorse??

I found a pedestrian path that wove its way through the city that cars are not allowed on so I followed that for a while until I got distracted by cool statues and plazas and intricate churches. I’ve always appreciated massive cathedrals and all the ornate architecture and symbolism that goes on. I then decided to embark upon an impromptu church tour, finding and entering as many churches as possible that I deemed were not in too sketch of an area. Inside was so peaceful, and I spent almost an hour in the first one! Being able to walk without any direction and do absolutely whatever is one of the most freeing feelings in the world. I like plans, but more and more I am falling in love with being even more spontaneous and just entering situations on pure impulse. It’s much more adventurous and adds a whole new element of surprise to the situation! Don’t worry though; I’m always smart and cautious before jumping in too fast head first. 

So beyond the church tour I also visited the Mercado Central (Central Market) and wandered around the stalls. I saw some nasty pieces of animals, lots of herbs with all their respective cures etc, lots of fruits and veggies that I’ve never seen before, and tons of people. Saturday was definitely an enjoyable people watching day. Unfortunately there weren’t many places to just sit down and watch the world go by as many of those spots were already taken by allll the people out enjoying the day. (It was perfect! Slight breeze, slight sun, perfect temp, and only rained a little bit!) I finally entered the “Food Mall Palace”, home of Church’s Chicken, Papa John’s, and Burger King for an hour while I waited to hear back from another friend Ross, who was visiting his brother in Heredia, another suburb of San Jose. I had bought National Geographic Traveler in Spanish at a little bookstore along the way during my wanderings so it was fun to sit down and read through that. Only after I brought it back to the ranch did I realize that it was actually not the most current issue, but at least it was only $3. Traveling stories don’t change all that much from month to month. Ross showed up and thanks to Michele lending me her cell phone for the day I was actually able to find him, his brother, and his brother’s girlfriend. We enjoyed a delicious meal from Burger King: hamburguesas ticas. It’s a so-called Costa Rican hamburger, which I wouldn’t agree with as I’ve had others that seem more “tica” but hey, it’s BK, they’ll call it however they want. So this burger had a fried tortilla in the middle of it, along with refried black beans (and probably some rice too! …just kidding) and then the burger, lettuce, and tomato and mayo. Good stuff! We walked around after dinner and perused a market that was very reminiscent of the feria that I frequented back in Viña during my delightful Chile days. I was hoping to buy some earrings to replace some of the ones that I had to throw away thanks to the mold attack but no such luck this time. We enjoyed a banana split with orange, blackberry, and guanabana ice cream, whipped cream, nuts, and the banana of course. Mmmmmmmmm. If you didn’t already know this about me, one fun fact is that I definitely possess a deep appreciation for good food. And variety. ;)

They walked me to my bus stop and I headed back to Moravia where Michele was baking up some delicious desserts. Why oh why have I stayed so long at this ranch???  The three of us watched a movie and I read a little before falling fast asleep.

Sunday was a wonderful day. I woke up at 8am, read more, and then had another delicious breakfast and a yummy cup of coffee. At 10:15 we hopped into the car and drove up the mountain to Coronado, another suburb where their church is located. It wasn’t my first time attending church in Spanish, but it was definitely one of the first that I attended that I actually understood about 90-95% of what was going on. Singing in Spanish is always enjoyable, and trying to follow along with the pastor was a challenging yet enjoyable experience as well. There was so much joy in that place, I enjoyed being there immensely. In the afternoon we made oatmeal cookies and enjoyed a leisurely walk through the plaza and town of Moravia before heading off to Cultura Extrema, the youth group that Lisandro began and that he and Michele now lead. It’s in a small part of a warehouse and the kids are awesome! Everyone was so welcoming and fun-loving. They taught me how to play Skip Bo, which was a challenge in Spanish and with loud music playing, this made it harder to hear. I still got the hang of it though, and ended up winning. Definitely beginner’s luck as I didn’t have a clue what was going on most of the time. Or maybe I did…who knows. We played a game of Spoons and then everyone joined in a competition of guys vs. girls trying to guess and then begin to sing songs that Lisandro chose. I knew a few, but not before someone else had run up and grabbed the microphone. Worship was again awesome as everyone’s voices rose to the ceiling as one, so moving. There was a talk and we partnered up and asked one another questions about our lives…so much great Spanish practice in one day!

The three of us went and got Subway after Cultura Extrema and enjoyed our sandwiches in front of the TV back in Moravia, watching the end of the Miss Universe 2009 competition. For those of you that know me well you know that I rarely watch TV while in the States but it was another good dose of healthy civilization and pure entertainment for the weekend. The best part was that it was a channel broadcast directly from Colorado so not only was it all in English but it also had advertisements for places and news happening around Colorado. Good night!

Monday morning I woke up at 5:15am, said goodbye, and hopped into a taxi for the bus terminal. Surprisingly there were a decent number of other people, mostly gringos, waiting for the bus when I arrived. I got onto the bus around 6:15am and promptly fell asleep while staring out the window watching the world wake up and head to work. It was a long journey and I finally arrived to Fortuna around 10:45am. The shuttle back to the ranch leaves around noon, so I wandered around, read some, and generally enjoyed the day. The shuttle hadn’t been running all that regularly lately, so I took a risk that it might not be there to take me back at noon. In that case my plan was to either a) hitchhike or b) hope that I ran into someone I knew who was headed in that general direction, not an entirely ridiculous hope as Fortuna is small and I know people. ;) Around 11:50am I was scoping out the area, trying to decide who might be the best candidate to ask for a ride, as well as if I should just start walking and see how far I could go before I got too tired. I really was in no hurry to get back to work, and doubted that I’d even be missed. I ran into Memo a little before noon and he also had plans to head back to the ranch. We waited until 12:15, and the shuttle still hadn’t showed up. He suggested we go to the river and enjoy the day out there, but I was still excited about the prospect of trying to hitchhike. A little later, we ran into Derek who told us that the shuttle was leaving at 12:30 that day. Strange, but good to know. I went to the bakery to grab a few things to eat and then hopped onto the shuttle back to the ranch. Great trip, and no one minded that I hadn’t been there.

This week has been super great, tying up loose ends and finishing up mini projects, hanging out and just enjoying life. I climbed up the Mirador again, which was great fun just as it has been the last couple of times I’ve done it. It has been raining more, which is hard to believe I know, but we’ve still had some great few hours of sunshine that are appropriately cherished.

Today is our last day at the ranch and we’ll be moving tomorrow morning to Pizza John’s. Yay! I went over there a couple of nights ago to train and even got to wait on a couple tables and make a pizza. Judging by that first night of learning how things work around there, I am confident it’s going to be a great time. More details as they arrive! The great news is that the internet at Pizza John’s is near normal high speed quality so posting pictures and talking on Skype will be even easier. Hoo-rah.

Enjoy the weekend, check back in 10 days or so for some travel stories!

Cheers,
Katie :)

This is what it means to feel alive *UPDATED*

Great news! I have just completed my last internship course requirement and upon receipt of my employer’s evaluation of my work, I will officially have completed college! As I’m currently in a foreign country the ramifications of this situation have not fully sunken in though I am sure that upon my return to the States and a state of normalcy it will hit me that I have no classes to attend, and only a job to find. But that’s fodder for another day, and another dollar.

I have 6 more work days left at the ranch, and then from there 3 weeks to fill however I so choose. I’m thoroughly looking forward to working at Pizza John’s, spinning pizzas and living la pura vida and whatever else is ahead. And traveling to another part of the country, even though today I found out that where we are planning to head is apparently one of the wettest areas of the country, year-round. Just my luck! Oh well, if anything I’ve grown used to the frequent downpours and uncertainty of when it will stop falling.


Speaking of downpours let me recount to you the adventures of this past weekend.

Last Saturday morning began an adventure that started rather spontaneously, as great, epic, and memorable adventures often do. We randomly decided to go to the national park for the volcano, until we heard from a few locals that not only does the national park cost $10 to get in, but there aren’t that many trails and it’s not that great. The volcano observatory lodge is closer to the ranch, and only costs $4 to enter. When you aren’t making any money, anything that is even remotely cheaper is going to automatically be the best option! The change in adventure location also prompted our motley crew to change our mode of transportation. Dustin suggested we rent mountain bikes from the ranch, an idea that of course I immediately agreed to. So Saturday morning dawned bright and beautiful, the perfect day for an all-day, out-of-doors adventure. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and I was absolutely pumped.

Jean Baptiste, Dustin, Andrea, and I selected our bikes, donned helmets, filled up our camelbaks and hit the bumping road. Dustin and I sped off, being more of the serious biking types, though I will say that Dustin is much more experienced than I am. Neither of us had been biking in a while though we had both arrived in good biking shape. Nevertheless I powered up the rocky hills as best as I could and made sure to hit a good number of puddles on my way down, just to feel the spray of the water hit and feel just that much more alive. It was exhilarating being on a bike again and feeling my adrenaline and heart pumping and sweat pouring off my body like rain drops. Whoever said “girls don’t sweat, they glisten” was clearly not an athlete.

After a brief pit stop at the bridge to survey the great Arenal Volcano and its surprisingly clear state, we headed up the road towards the observatory.
Jean-Baptiste, Dustin, Me, Andrea

The jungle changed a bit as we climbed and we entered a pine forest! Glimpses of the volcano kept us going and eventually we got to the entrance. It was literally straight up for 1.3 km, which is only about a half mile but it sure felt like more than that. I’ll admit, I didn’t make it all the way up without getting off my bike, though I definitely tried. By this time we had traveled 10km, which really isn’t all that much, except for the fact that it was in the hot sun, over many rocks and up and down many hills and twists and turns. And at 3000 feet no less! ;) Whatever, it’d been a while since I’d biked and we all know that Indiana is not a hilly place. I’m a flatlander through and through though I have many plans to change that.


We all finally made it to the observatory lodge and by this time it was the lunch hour so we sat down at the restaurant with an incredibly close and spectacular view of Arenal, as well as the lake. I devoured a cheeseburger and fries (anything that isn’t rice and beans!) and promptly fell asleep on a very comfortable couch after lunch while Dustin and Andrea played a game of chess and Jean Baptiste rested his eyes too. After this break we decided to go exploring and go for a hike as there is over 9 miles of various hiking trails and sights to see on the property. The volcano went in and out of visibility, as did the sunshine. We hiked out to a waterfall, deep into the jungle and decided to continue on to a hanging bridge and then on to Cerro Chato, a now sunken volcano that has a lake where its exploding crater once was. Right before we were about to walk across the hanging bridge it began to rain. And then pour. Luckily we’d grabbed some neon yellow reflective jackets that turned out not to be waterproof but at least they were bright! We found a shelter to wait out the storm. When the downpour didn’t stop after more than a half hour we decided that it probably wasn’t going to stop any time soon so we made a literal run for it, scampering back down the now trail-turned-river and muddy conditions. The jungle takes on a whole new look during a downpour. There’s water everywhere and when you decide to run through it, the intensity level quickly increases. We ran and laughed and dodged sticks and stones along the trail and loved our drenched lives. Back at the observatory we sat up in the lookout tower and watched the volcano and watched some large hot stones fall down the side of it, crashing and steaming along the way. It was perfect. Eventually the rain dissipated and we decided it was time to head back. The way back was much easier than the way up as we were energized by fake fruit gummy dinosaurs and some slices of bread, along with a much-needed break and a nap. Dustin also made the great choice of buying chocolate covered espresso beans which likely also aided in our increased energy.

Anyway, we zoomed down back to the main road from the lodge and jean baptiste and andrea were completely wiped so they headed back towards the ranch while Dustin and I decided to continue the adventure and head into La Fortuna, about 20 km from where we were at that moment. There’s a shuttle that goes back to the ranch at 6pm so we figured we would ride into town and catch the shuttle back towards the ranch.



The ride into Fortuna was incredible!! Not only incredibly difficult at some points, but also incredibly awesome! Once we got to the main paved road it was fairly smooth sailing, despite the few massive hills we had to conquer. I’ll admit, I got out and walked up part of them. By this time my legs were freaking out: “what! Another hill! nooOooooOOooo” The sun began to set, which looked awesome with the mostly clear volcano smoking in the distance. The downhill into Fortuna was some of the best downhill I’ve ever experienced. That is a moment in which you truly feel free…zooming down a hill at who knows what insanely fast speed, feeling the wind in your hair and the sun on your face and smiling this massively goofy smile because you just love your life in that moment so incredibly much! Obviously, I was happy to have made the choice to ride into Fortuna. We made it just in time to grab the shuttle back (there was NO way I would have made it back, especially once it got dark) and had it drop us off at Pizza John’s since we had missed dinner. We enjoyed good conversation and delicious pizza, as always, and played stick ball in the yard with Mao, an incredibly entertaining 6-year-old Tico.

I also had the pleasure of waking up in time to catch the last bit of night blend into dawn around 5am the other day. I told you I’ve been enjoying waking up early! This day was great, and dawn is indeed a magical time. The last star eventually disappeared into the growing light and the clouds were perfect. It was a great mixture of clouds and clarity, with pinks and oranges and light blues appearing all over the horizon. If you’ve never watched the sun rise, I definitely encourage you to do so! The birds along the lake were flying around, I watched a couple kingfishers searching for fish for a while, on power lines above the lake. Everything slowly but surely sprung to life all around me and I soaked up every second of it that I possibly could!

Another blog is on its way so I’ll cut this one off here.

Love Life!
Cheers,

Katie

Breaking the routine and finding peace and tranquility

It’s been a good while since I last wrote, and much has happened. If I told you everything we’d be here all day and long into the night. Chalk it up to me being busy, the internet being non-functional, and while we’re at it, let’s blame the rain too. Though I will admit that it has actually been quite sunny for most of the day recently, which has been a most welcome change. I’ll enjoy it while it lasts before the “real” rainy season starts! I’ve decided I enjoy living up kind of in the mountains; it’s cooler here. I hate heat. And humidity. So, while I am drenched in humidity and all my stuff feels wet 99% of the time and gum sweats and passports wilt and gather all sorts of different colors of mold, I like the cool night breeze and the need for a hoodie and long pants from time to time. I could never survive in the tropics, or in the south. But that’s another story entirely.

So get on with it, you say! What on earth have you been doing that has prevented you from updating us on your life? Honestly, I’ve been filling my days with spontaneous fun and since I spend a good amount of the work day on the computer sometimes the last thing I really want to do is sit here and type out a blog or send an email about my life. That being said, I’m feeling the need to reach out to all of you right now. Hi! How’s it going? I miss you! I can’t wait to come home and share a few good laughs with each and every one of you, no matter where you live right now. Montana friends: I know you’re betting on whether or not I’ll make it out there before the year’s end and let me assure I am going to do all that is within my power to make it so.

A couple weeks ago now I embarked on an incredibly spontaneous adventure. I needed to get off the ranch and break the routine of the work week where I sit most of the day on the computer, writing blogs, going through pictures of the ranch, creating brochures, etc. Isaac had the weekend off as well and Andrea was sick, so he and I decided to make a weekend of it and do whatever. We hopped onto the 9am shuttle Saturday morning, carrying backpacks ready for an adventure hiking through the rain, hanging out at the beach, or wandering through the city—always be prepared! I wanted an adventure, and adventure is what I got! We randomly hopped on a bus to San Ramon, a city about 3 hours from Fortuna by city bus that stopped every 2 feet at times. I mean, it wasn’t THAT bad, but it felt like that sometimes. I slept most of the way. When we got to the city neither one of us had any idea where anything was, but it didn’t really matter. We got off and wandered around and honestly, I felt slightly overwhelmed at the hustle and bustle and Costa Rican city feel. Spanish, people, loud music, speaking, yelling, singing, begging. I tried to look beyond the buildings to see what I could see. I saw a few mountains surrounding the city and suggested we climb one of them so as to see the sunset that was obscured by grey cement.
We paused at the plaza, tried to find a restaurant and failed so we ended up eating in one of the dirtiest bars I’ve ever been in but that’s all we could find where we were in the city at that point, so it was fine. Next we grabbed a few items for the road and headed out to climb to the mountain at the edge of town before the sun set. Surprisingly enough we made it, and it was a great climb…very steep but with a good road that led all the way to the very top. I can’t imagine climbing that every day, just to get to my house but I guess I’d be in brutally good shape. I felt great once we got to the top! We could see the sun setting, lighting off brilliant oranges and yellows and reds amongst the puffy clouds. The lights of the city began to come on on the hillside and it was perfect. Night fell quickly and we decided to continue being spontaneous so we hiked down the opposite side of the mountain into a whole different town. We walked for quite a while, just enjoying the evening. The stars started to come out, and we found a highway so we walked along side it in the residential highway portion that was less traveled. We came to a bus stop and waited for a bit, then asked someone how to get to San Ramon and were told to cross the street. In doing so we stumbled upon a cute looking bar/restaurant/hotel so we decided to hang our hats there for the night. The place was barely 2 weeks old and served some amazing “bocas”: rice and chicken aka arroz con siempre, red beans and bacon and rice, and a swordfish ceviche with soda crackers that definitely hit the spot! We even found Nicaraguan beer that actually had flavor, compared to the beer normally served in Costa Rica. The evening was spent hanging out with Bombi, a crazy Tico who wanted to practice his English. There were music videos playing from the 70s and 80s and he enthusiastically assured us that each new song that came on was his absolute favorite, along with the best song in the world—and he knew every word. I was exhausted, but he made me pay attention to his singing along. Isaac convinced me it was necessary to create alter egos so for the night I was Ana while he played Victor. That was about as far as we got in coming up with characters to portray to the people we met, but Bombi was sure not to forget our names. Ana! ANA!!! Conoces esta cancion??? Es mi FAVORITA!!! AHHH (insert singing here) translation: Do you know this song?? I hope so, because guess what, it’s my favorite.

The next morning we got up and embarked on our trek back to San Ramon since we’d never really made it the night before. That Sunday morning was gorgeous. There was a perfect breeze and the most amazing thing about San Ramon aside from the perfect temperature was a complete LACK of humidity. I wanted to stay there forever!!! We hiked along the road, finding out that we were in Palmares, about 4 miles or so from San Ramon. As we walked, a van pulled up and a friendly Tico couple asked if we were going to San Ramon and wanted a ride. We accepted, and hopped in the back seat with their son. We zoomed through the mountains for a little bit, until at the bottom of one of the hills the battery died and the van came to a stop. We all got out and pushed it up the hill, which was not an easy task. At the top our friends told us that we should probably just continue walking to San Ramon because the fixing of their van could take a while. We kept trekking on and I am happy to report that once we got to the plaza our Tico friends passed us in their now running van and waved and honked as they passed. :) The best part of that story is that we weren’t even trying to hitchhike; they just thought it looked like we needed a lift, so they offered! Good people. The rest of our adventure consisted of eating, waiting for the bus, riding the bus, waiting for the shuttle, and riding the shuttle back. A pretty regular end to an irregular and awesome adventure. What a blast! As much as I enjoy maps and guidebooks and planning what to do before I go somewhere, I loved the feeling of complete freedom. We could do whatever we wanted and walk for however long we felt like because there was no plan. The only plan was to have fun, enjoy the weekend, and break the routine of mediocrity. I’d say it was a mission thoroughly completed.



Midweek last week we switched out one of our weekend days off and joined Derek, Dustin, Isaac, and Oon to go make a visit to “Tomas’ farm.” Tomas is originally from the Czech Republic and about a year and a half ago purchased some land on the top of one of the nearby mountains and built a farm, utilizing the ideas of primitive agriculture and organic production to grow and produce much of what he consumes. He harvests yucca, peach palm, tarrow root, bananas, soy beans, corn, and many other vegetables and plants. He also dabbles in creating moonshine and homemade salsas. We tried a concoction of his made with coffee that was originally supposed to be coffee wine, but now is something of a carbonated and fermented coffee liquor. His farm is one of the most peaceful places I have ever visited on earth and I loved spending the day there, relaxing in some of the hammocks at the top of a building he’s constructed that overlooks the Children’s Eternal Rainforest, a large area of rainforest that has been protected for future generations. Birds flew overhead and howler monkeys screamed off in the misty distance.
The clouds rolling in added to the tranquility of the place and a light rain on the tin roof above us was incredibly soothing. We munched on bananas grown on the property and looked out over the expanse. A tree stump carried into a type of twisting ladder along with a few other strategically placed pieces of wood served as our means of entering and exiting the open-air hang out. For lunch we ate off banana leaves and had a delicious combination of beans and rice with some tuna and other delicious spices thrown into the mix. We enjoyed some delicious coffee along with Tomas’ homemade fry bread—a combination of barley, oatmeal, and other flours as well as peanuts, brown sugar, and who knows what else. Either way, it was all incredibly delicious! We ended the day listening to Tomas play his accordion and hiked down the mountain, enjoying the views and the rolling misty clouds amongst the sounds of the rainforest. All in all it was an amazing day and a great break in the routine. :D

Since then I honestly don’t have too much to report, other than the fact that many people have left the ranch for various reasons and the food has taken a nosedive into barely sustainable mediocrity. Beans and rice and fruit juice are all that compose our meals—we haven’t even gotten extra food leftover from the tourists lately! In other news, for all of you that sent me mail, I finally received it!! Thank you for sending it, it definitely made my night when my boss showed up and handed it all to me. Please don’t send any more as I assuredly will not receive it before I get back—5 weeks from today! :) Email is great, though the internet has been pretty inconsistent and was out for 3 days this week. The power cord on my computer decided to break and die so I’ve been borrowing a friends’ computer for the past week and as of yet have been unsuccessful in obtaining a new one. My goal for Monday is to go and find one in Ciudad Quesada, a 2 hour journey but worth it if I can find something. Pray for me! I’ve also been working hard on finishing up the internship requirements for Butler and am happy to report that I only have my portfolio reflection to complete and then I will be done with college! I can’t wait!

So I’ve decided, for a number of reasons, to end my internship here at the ranch in 2 weeks. By then I will have logged approximately 320 hours +, which is enough to fulfill Butler’s requirements. I’m not entirely sure how I will spend the last 3 weeks of my stay in Costa Rica but do know that one of those weeks will be spent traveling to the Caribbean side of the country and logging more bus time and pretty pictures. :) For those of you checking into my Facebook page I apologize for not having updated it in a while, I have plenty of pictures to post but a weak internet signal that has been preventing me from doing so.

I love the moments when I receive emails and messages and Skype calls from all of you, you have no idea how pumped I am to return and see you all so soon!

Today is Friday and therefore it is Pizza John’s night. If any of you ever come this way and visit you MUST check out Jardin Escondido, right outside of El Castillo near Lake Arenal. John DiVita is one of the kindest persons I have ever met and does anything for anyone. This past week Andrea and I packed up our dirty clothes and washed them all over at John’s, which turned into an entertaining adventure with the washing machine but we got it done! He’s always willing to engage in lively conversation and open his doors to anyone in need. We are contemplating spending some of our 3 week time frame staying at Pizza John’s and helping him implement some marketing initiatives. Beyond that, he makes some killer pizza and delicious ice cream. He just recently started also serving specials: BBQ, pulled pork, ceviche and all sorts of other goodies. Great times!

For those of you back in school or just about to start, enjoy and best of luck! For all the rest of you, enjoy your days as well! And as always, adventure on :)

Cheers,
Katie

Older and wiser maybe, yet always approaching the world with childlike wonder

Today marks one month since our arrival to Costa Rica. And I am finally used to the food, or maybe it’s gotten better. We still don’t get fresh fruit at employee meals, but I have had the privilege of enjoying a couple guest-quality meals over the past few days.

I celebrated my 22nd birthday this past Saturday, after an impromptu party at Pizza John’s, complete with random Latin dancing and of course ice cream and beer! Andrea and I went to Fortuna in the morning and then in the afternoon she and Chloe worked on my birthday cake while I embarked on a hike to a nearby waterfall. I started off on the trail, after wandering around the ranch a little bit trying to find the trail. Beron Gere found me looking lost and pointed me in the right direction. As soon as I began it started to pour, rainforest style. I decided to keep going anyway, mostly protected by the jungle leaves. I pushed on, heading deeper into the jungle. Before I continue, I suppose I should let you know about my new favorite pair of foot accessories. Black. Size 9. Pure rubber. Thick soles. Beautiful, essential rubber boots. I’ve yet to find a pair of shoes more useful in the rainforest than a pair of boots. Virtually indestructible by the elements and potential wild animals lurking around, I can conquer the world in my rubber boots. I feel invincible and love stomping through mud, climbing over fallen logs, or dominating a rain puddle. So there I was, amidst the torrential downpour, conquering the jungle. Just me and my boots and the jungle. I felt so alive, so in touch with everything around me. Who needs television when you’ve got this type of entertainment? Feeling empowered, I soon came to a small creek. “I don’t need to jump over this, I’ll just walk right in, like it’s nothing! I’m wearing rubber boots!” Yeah, well, it seemed like a great idea at the time. As soon as I stepped into the muddy creek I remembered one crucial point about stepping into muddy water. It’s nearly impossible to tell how deep it is. Unfortunately, the creek was just slightly deeper than my boots and I plunged into the river, water quickly seeping over the edges of my galoshes. I hopped out as quickly as possible and stood there on the bank, wringing out my socks and dumping the water out. Humbled, I continued on, excited to find the waterfall. The rain intensified and I realized how futile it is to ever really hope to stay dry here in the rainforest. You have no other choice than to embrace the wetness, and embrace it I did, me and my rubber boots. And thank God for my waterproof camera! That thing has been one of the single best investments I’ve ever made. Wonderful—a piece of technology that can keep up with my adventurous and crazy habits! The waterfall fell before me, soaking me even more than the rain already had. There was a pool of water around the waterfall that I stomped through for a bit, taking pictures and climbing up the rock face a little bit, ensuring that I was thoroughly soaked. Embracing the earth, the rain, the rubber boots. The pure and simple feeling of being utterly and completely ALIVE. Happy Birthday to me!

I eventually headed back to dry off and rinse off before dinner. On the way back I was determined not to fall for the muddy water trick again, so when I got to the creek I found a rock to walk across. However, thanks to the pouring rain that said rock was quite slippery. Within seconds I again found myself in the creek, boots and all submerged into the muddy water. Oh well. I pulled myself out, wrung out my socks and dumped the water out of my boots again, laughed, and ran off down the trail. When I did finally get to dinner, Isaac was working in the kitchen that night and told me to take myself out to dinner on him, drinks included. So I happily crossed over the divide between employees and guests and became like a guest that night, sort of. After everyone else was done eating they all came and joined me, which was a lot more enjoyable than sitting by myself, despite how good the food was. I was pleasantly surprised to find one of my favorite drinks from Chile was also served at this bar, and ordered a Brazilian caipirinha. It’s similar to a mojito, but less minty and much tastier, with more lime and sugar. For dinner I enjoyed a sirloin steak with pasta primavera and mixed veggies, along with herb bread and butter, and a tasty fresh garden salad with delectable tomatoes, peppers, and carrots. It’s amazing how good things you haven’t had in a while taste—and I didn’t even have to eat beans and rice!! After a while, Andrea and Chloe brought out my cake, which was carrot with pineapple. Carrot shavings spelled out “Happy Birthday Katie” and per tradition, I was told to “taste the cake”, which translates to “put your face near the cake so we can push it in.” I happily enjoyed the remainder of the evening listening to the pouring rain (I think it rained for over 12 straight hours this weekend!) and the conversation of newfound friends. Indeed, I am truly blessed to have found such a cool group of people so far from home.

On Sunday Andrea and I went on a hike up to the mirador, and then around the side of the mountain and down into the town of El Castillo, finally walking down the road and passing Pizza John’s. Of course it rained for some of the hike, but we also had a bit of time in the sun. Pizza John made me a birthday pizza and we tried to watch part of the Gold Cup with Mexico and the U.S. via slow internet.

Never fear, the fun continues! Aside from playing and exploring, I’ve been learning too!

Monday we took a 2.75 hour trip to central Costa Rica to visit EARTH University. This proved to be quite an enjoyable adventure. We spent about 3 hours at the university, meeting the director of international programs and participating in a marketing meeting for the creation of a new partnership and program between EARTH and the ranch. EARTH has many of the same sustainable, organic ideals as RM does and the two have come together to create a 2-week program for students and interested adults wanting to learn more about organic agriculture, among other topics to be determined. The students and professors of EARTH come from over 23 different countries and I could tell from just being on the campus and walking around that I was in an innovative, unique place with a great vibe. We hope to spend 4 or so days there sometime in August, learning more about the campus culture and various initiatives they are implementing. I really hope that does end up happening, as it would be nice to get off the ranch for a few days and be in a different place, learning and helping them develop a marketing plan as well. On the way back, Juan and Mosco kept stopping to gather plants, seeds, and other sundry items. At one particularly long stop Andrea and I decided to get out and walk around the nursery. We found a fallen orange and spent the next half hour playing catch in the parking lot. Who knew I’d be here in Costa Rica, playing with oranges, watching the sun begin to set somewhere in the middle of semi-civilization? We didn’t get back until 8pm, long after employee meal time was over. Thankfully we were treated to a delicious meal fit for the guests. I had tilapia over penne pasta and mixed veggies, along with amazing rolls with herb butter, a fresh garden salad, and plantains flambee. Mmmm. However, I was hardly hungry anymore by the time we got to eat so I gave most of it away to everyone else who was sitting around, hanging out with us while we ate and hoping for hand-outs. ;)

Tuesday Isaac asked us if we wanted to be in charge of the dessert for the guests. Of course we said yes and Andrea, Dusty, and I embarked on a cooking adventure trying to determine what to make. We decided on cream puffs and had a fabulous time. I made the cream filling. Making over 30 cream puffs was hard work, especially in the hot kitchen with everyone bustling around, working on their specific task. It was fun to be a part of the kitchen atmosphere, again something different, new, and exciting. I washed some dishes, and generally tried to stay out of the way. After a quick dinner we went back to the kitchen to finish up. Isaac decided to teach us more about “the industry” and I became in charge of preparing some of the entrees, including learning how to “plate” a dish. I cooked beef, tilapia, and stuffed zucchini, burning and turning orders as fast as possible, all the while having Isaac calmly explain what needed to happen when and how. Hot grease sputtered around, the fire flared, I created what I hoped to be attractive presentations of food on each plate, filling each with love and care, then putting it up on the counter and ringing the bell, alerting the waiters that “order’s up!” I learned how to know when fish is thoroughly cooked, and the necessity of arrow mats (sp?)—the family of onions, leeks, and the like. I also learned that while speed is imperative, so is caution. I now sport two awesome second degree burns on the thumb and forefinger of my right hand. I tell you this not to generate concern or sympathy, but rather as an interesting detail to embellish my story. I’ve always enjoyed getting scars and bruises, though not bug bites. The reason for this is simple: scars and bruises are reminders of some adventure, something out of the ordinary that occurred and if it looks cool enough, someone just might ask you about it. Hopefully, these burn marks will stick around for a while so that when I return to the States I can show you and in case you forgot, tell you about this one time back in Costa Rica when I got to work in the kitchen, pan searing beef and tilapia and cooking up the corn niblets. I was so excited to be doing something engaging and challenging that I forgot to grab a towel before I grabbed a hold of the pan sitting over the fire. “All I wanted to do was flip the veggies and lentils”, I’ll say. “But look at these great burn marks! What a story! What a life!” No pain, no gain, right? Call me crazy, but I enjoy a good scar or bruise here and there. It’s like a picture that adequately captures an incredible adventure, but you don’t have to worry about losing it or carrying it with you. All you have to do is roll up your sleeve or point to your knee. “See that? That’s from the time when I thought it’d be a good idea to run through a cactus patch!” (Don’t worry, I’ve never run through a cactus patch, though I’ve had my fair share of cactus encounters) But back to my burn, the great thing about living on an organic farm is that there are tons of cool plants around with all sorts of medicinal, healing qualities. I’m currently rubbing my battle wounds in the insides of an aloe stalk!

So the teamwork for the cream puffs was great. We each had our own specific tasks, as mentioned, and then after helping Isaac make the main dishes, it was soon time for the last course. “2 desserts for Table 3!” “4 desserts for Table 1!” The orders started out slow, then increased in intensity. I filled the puffs, Dusty drizzled chocolate on the plate and covered the top of each puff with a dab of chocolate and some coconut shavings while Andrea sliced strawberries and arranged mint leaves from the garden on the plate. We sure learned the proper way to plate last night!
And boy was it a blast. When everyone had been served we made up a few extra plates for ourselves and enjoyed the delicacies. We left the kitchen around 9, hot, sweaty, dirty, and completely satisfied not only because our bellies were full, but because we’d helped add a little something special to each guest’s experience here at the Ranch.

Here’s to continuing adventures, good friends, family, and being myself. May you find a bit of yourself this week that you don’t frequently entertain. Take that extra scoop of ice cream, run an extra mile, read an extra chapter in that book you’ve been enjoying, burn your hand on the stove (just kidding), live it up friends!

Peace, love, and happiness to you in your journey,
Pura Vida,

Katie

Getting off the Ranch and Simply Living

It’s been a bit since I’ve last posted and honestly, I don’t have too much to say but will instead offer a few observations about my current state of mind and a few highlights from the past week.

Last weekend we took a spontaneous road trip to Ciudad Quesada. It was a 2 hour adventure on one shuttle from the ranch and a public bus. I realized when I got onto the bus how much I had missed public transportation. Don’t get me wrong, I’m completely head over heels for my yellow car, but it is nice to be able to freely move from place to place and not worry about parking, gas, insurance, etc. Memo, a Tico friend who works in the kitchen, has family in Ciudad Quesada and grew up there. It was refreshing to travel away from the ranch and away from the tourist atmosphere of La Fortuna and finally gain a taste of the “real” Costa Rica—away from the crowds, the English, the extortion. Isaac, Andrea, and I decided to go to the movies while we waited for Memo to go run some errands. Harry Potter 6 was playing so we paid 1800 colones, roughly 3 US dollars, to enjoy the 2 and a half hour flick dubbed entirely in Spanish—no subtitles. I’m happy to report I paid attention the whole time and didn’t even fall asleep once! I think this was because my brain was excited with the challenge of trying to understand everything that was being said. I’m also happy to report that I understand nearly all of it, minus the wizard words and a few voices here and there. Andrea and Isaac had a bit more trouble, but I filled in the blanks and Andrea had read the book, so she had a general idea of what was to happen before the movie even began. After the movie we met up with Memo for dinner at a random little Tico place that was nothing special. I had a cheeseburger and well, it was better than rice and beans, but not great. After that we took an incredibly bumpy ride to Memo’s house that overlooks most of the town on top of a nearby mountain. Awesome. The view at night was incredible, as was the view the next morning! Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures—fail on my part. We decided to go back into town as it wasn’t that late and check out a karaoke bar we had seen along the way. The bar was absolutely packed and the majority of men that filled the place were extremely excited to show off their skills. The best song we heard sung was some song none of us had ever heard about America, belted out with such gusto that it was all we could do to not absolutely burst into laughter later. Our next stop was some bar that apparently has dancing on Friday and Saturday nights, but apparently no one felt like dancing when we were there. However, we didn’t let that deter us and Isaac, Andrea, and I danced anyway, not caring what the Ticos thought about the crazy gringos. (Note that Memo did NOT participate—maybe it’s not really a dance club and the joke was on us, who knows). The next morning I enjoyed sleeping in until 9am! Memo’s mom made us coffee and we had some delicious bread, then headed back to the bus station and then back to La Fortuna.

The rest of the weekend was uneventful, though we did have an awesome fire on the island Sunday night and I stayed out there way too late. Oh well though, it was definitely worth it, enjoying the evening, staring up at the stars and listening to the river flow by. I’m obsessed with that place—it’s so tranquil and I always feel so in touch with nature while down there.

Cleaning and inspecting for mold continues to be a chore. It ensures that our room, and stuff, stays clean though! However, all forms of organizational containers now prove ineffective as instead they are incubators of mold.

I’m used to the rain by now, and somewhat enjoy it. It makes getting up in the morning hard sometimes though, especially when the rain is absolutely POURING. For whatever reason, rain falling is such a soothing sound and does not promote motivation.

Costa Rica is changing me. Most likely, these changes are only temporary but I suppose time shall tell.

First of all, I am up by 6:45am every day, even on my days off. With the exception of the past few days, I am in bed by 11:30pm, if not earlier. The necessity of going down for breakfast before it ends at 7:15am motivates me to get up. Though I will admit that on Monday, dragging myself out of bed at that hour, even for breakfast, was too much. So I skipped the first meal of the day and it really wasn’t that bad…it may happen again. Even though I am most definitely a night person, I can appreciate the early morning and the stillness and expectancy a new day brings.

I no longer crave sweets. I know, right? I do still definitely enjoy them, from time to time, but after being unwillingly weaned off of them, a cookie once a week or so is a nice little luxury to be had. I can’t afford to crave something that I can’t get whenever I want, as it is back home in the States. Even when there are extra cookies, if I’ve already had one that day, I don’t really have any desire to eat another. I suppose this is a good thing, and I have no doubt that my sweet tooth will return come September 18. I did enjoy a bowl of chocolate, coconut, and peanut ice cream at Pizza John’s over the weekend, along with a Coke Zero. It’s truly amazing the things you miss, often items you never thought you would.

I’m getting used to the simpler lifestyle, though I’ve never considered myself to lead an overly complicated life. I do miss my cell phone from time to time, mostly because I love to stay connected to all of you fine folk.

This weekend should prove exciting, another Pizza John’s night tonight, which is turning into a weekly tradition. I hope to go on an awesome hike one of the days this weekend, and overall enjoy life as usual. It’s nice to have a break from sitting on the computer for 8 hours a day and enjoy la naturaleza all around me.

Signing off for now, more to come! As always, thank you for the emails, photo comments, wall posts, and the like—they encourage me and brighten my days. :)

Love you all, wish I could be there with you this weekend, or that you could be here with me. Enjoy the weekend!

Cheers,
Katie